


New SeeDs Grow

by PsyBomb



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25671418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsyBomb/pseuds/PsyBomb
Summary: Twelve more students are coming up through the academy at Balamb Garden, all aiming to be SeeDs. The story centers around one of them, Vermeil diMago, and picks up on the day of Galbadia's invasion of the newly-mobile Garden.
Kudos: 3





	1. As Galbadia Invades

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction, I own no rights to any Final Fantasy game. It is set in the world of Final Fantasy VIII and is set during the time of the game. I reference characters events from the game frequently, so spoilers may occur. In addition, if you are a fan of more than one game in the series you will find references and ideas from many of the others (I have knowingly done so for 6, 7, 9, and 10 so far, and may have done more accidentally). There will be no spoilers from the other games.
> 
> Finally, I write from experience in military matters. I will endeavor to answer questions, but where I do not have a reference from the game itself I have filled in the gaps with the practices of the US Armed Forces (other than, of course, the characters' ages).

**Chapter 1: As Galbadia Invades**

The world froze as I looked at the blinking light, hiding behind the bushes. “We are alike, young one. Weak and alone. Together, we can be more. Will you have me?”

\---

I should probably back up a bit. My parents were both mercenaries who joined Balamb Garden when it formed up. My dad was tall and thin, my mother short and stocky, and I came out short… and thin. They named me Vermeil, V for short, because of my bright red hair, then decided that letting me grow up in the Garden’s program was best for me as soon as I could take the instruction. Knowing them put me a ways ahead of my peers, almost enough to make up for the fact that I was the smallest person in my class. Still not around much, they were still mercenaries and active SeeD operatives after all, but I got a few tips my peers didn’t.

Peers. Bit of an odd word to use about people in classes that started when I was eight. Still, it was true enough. The interesting thing about growing up together as a bunch of people all trying to join elite mercenaries? Less fights than you might imagine, when everyone knows that everyone else can fight back. About a dozen of us in my class all told, united against all comers. Thinking back, that teacher had the patience of a saint. Goes double during the unexpected uprooting of the Garden and the festival at Fisherman’s Horizon that followed about a week ago.

This is how I ended up, at the age of ten, getting chewed out for showing up late to combat classes. Well, “late” as in only five minutes prior to start time. 

“Vermeil diMago! You know that we are testing out on your basic weapons unit today,  _ why _ are you not yet in your gi and not yet armed? You have been placed first on the schedule and will fail if you are not able to conduct your examination. Now  _ MOVE! _ ”

That was the teacher in question, Professor Yisra. He was, to put it bluntly, loud and large. Clocking in at two meters and over 110 kilo of near-pure bronzed muscle, he walked with a pronounced limp owing to a left hip injury suffered on his last mission. Not that it slowed him down compared to us. I hastily pulled on my training uniform and grabbed the padded quarterstaff I had been training with, sprinting onto the training mats just in time to stretch. Painfully. I should mention here that I was there late because of hits taken the day before in training. No amount of painkillers makes waking up the following morning easy, nor getting out of bed. My joints were, however, thankfully just getting to the point that I could actually pretend to move without too much delay.

“Students, I have said this before, but it bears repeating today,” he was saying as we warmed up. “Each of you has chosen weapons to suit your own style and your own goals. Your criteria for passing this exam is different from person to person, and if you feel that this method is not going to work for you long-term you can switch off later… with effort, since your classes will not be slowing down.”

_ In other words, we’re stuck unless we’re desperate. Two weeks of this to get to bare minimum proficiency and years of practice ahead won’t be made up easily. _

“V, you think you’re ready for this?” This was Reina, one of my classmates. Like basically everyone else, she was bigger than me by a significant factor. Dark hair and eyes, serious look on her face. It would be her to ask, despite being the same age as the rest of us she was the one who always made sure nobody got left behind. Unlike everyone else, she was practicing with a whip after seeing one of the other instructors using them and deciding she liked it.

“Does it matter? I’m either going to pass or Professor Yisra is going to punch me into next week.” Stretches complete, I began to go through a warmup drill on quarterstaff while waiting to be called. Don’t get me wrong, staves can be effective offensive weapons, but I’ve known for a long time that I’m not built for the front lines. I wanted to go into spellcaster operations or support, and to get there I had to get through weapons first. This led to the quarterstaff.

“diMago, on the mat!”

Although I’d been preparing for it, I had been hoping he was joking about me being up first. No such luck. I stood and stepped forward, taking my spot and facing an oddly empty spot facing me. I was stumped. Typically, combat examinations involved… opponents. “Since I taught you, it is not appropriate that I test you.”  _ Explains that. _ “To this end, I’ve arranged for a guest to test you. He is combat-tested, as dangerous as any of the SeeDs here, but will not be utilizing the peak of his abilities.”

He walked in, though the angle obscured his features. He was wearing a fairly standard combat uniform, but the weapon was unmistakable. Only two students of Balamb Garden used a Gunblade, and only one of those became a SeeD.

“Commander Leonhart!”

The words slipped out of my mouth before I could catch myself, and the entire class stood rapidly to salute. He froze for a moment, then with a resigned sigh turned to face the class. “As you were.” The rest of the class sat. I still stood there with a rapidly increasing sense of panic. I mean, it was Squall freaking Leonhart! I had his Triple Triad card! Everyone there knew what he was capable of, and that it was way more than a bunch of trainees could hope to muster even put together. 

“Trainee diMago, your examination will consist of one goal and one goal only. Do not bleed.” Of all the things Instructor Yisra could have said at that point, I’m pretty sure that this one one of the least encouraging. He released a couple of camera drones to record the proceedings. “Time will halt when I say it does. Begin.”

I had once heard that Commander Leonhart did not like injuring students or peers in practice. I probably should have paid more attention to the whispers of how hard he pushed himself and others to be better, nearly missing his own final exam due to a training injury from extracurriculars. The bladed edge came whistling at me almost before the word was said. It chimed off of the stave I had raised reflexively, missing drawing blood that quickly by half the distance I had flinched. “Good. You are fast off the mark.” That was the commander, in an infinitely calm voice. I realized then that he hadn’t followed up on the initial slash and got hastily reset. Had he wanted me dead, I would have died. The next three attacks were not as fast, but certainly had more power behind them. He still thankfully wasn’t going all-out, but my arms felt like they were made of lead and my palms were tingling after just those few impacts. His fourth I couldn’t deflect, again avoiding losing blood by just barely getting out of the way.

“Excellent. Now…” He held his hand before his face, calling power.  _ He’s freaking JUNCTIONED? It’s… thunder, gotta ground it! _ I sprinted to the edge of the mat, shoving the metal base of my stave onto the metal ground and hugging it close. The spell would naturally fly at me, so hopefully… it struck. My body seized up momentarily, but I could still move. I stood shakily, trying to get back into a proper position, but it was all over. Next attack would be the one that got me knocked out of the class. 

“Time! Vermeil, take your seat. Trainee Kithkin, to the mat.” Jay stood up, shook out his long limbs, and took up his daggers as I stumbled back to my place. The normal mischief was entirely absent from his face. With time to actually look and take stock of myself, I could literally see scoring on the sides of my stave, a spot on top that showed telltale bubbling of an arc-weld from channeling the thunder strike. I breathed hard, only now realizing that although I felt like I had been run over by the entirety of Balamb Garden’s automobile garage I had managed the impossible. I _ hadn’t bled. _ I halfway grayed out just trying to sit and breathe. The rest of the examinations were a blur, I wasn’t watching closely as I just tried to process how my own fight had gone. 

_ Not dumb enough to think it actually would have gone in my favor, there is a lot to learn from what he was doing that I can use against our swordsmen… assuming I survive that long. _

The tests didn’t take long in total, maybe forty-five minutes, before all of us had been put through the wringer. Commander Leonhart didn’t even look winded. Even knowing who he was it was kind of embarrassing. Yisra looked at the group. “I will finish reviewing and scoring your examinations. You are free for the rest of the day, looks like you need the rest. Dismissed.” As we trudged off to the showers there was a tone over the PA calling Commander Leonhart to the bridge. We didn’t care. Shower, change, eat. Some of us stumbled back to the barracks to pass out for a bit. Myself and a few others went out to the Square.   
  


There was a small, peaceful spot out there. Used to be right at the edge of Garden, at the fence line, behind some machinery. For the last couple of weeks since our home decided to grow metaphorical legs, it was still at the edge of Garden, but instead of a fence it was open air. Good view of the mountains we were passing, fresh air, and pretty much as far away from any announcements, personnel, or obligations as it was possible to be. The wind of our passage made a kind of whooshing white noise, helping block out the rest of the world.

“What the actual heck?” I complained to nobody in particular. “Commander Leonhart testing trainees? Overkill much?”

“Not to put too fine a point on it, you only had to not get cut. I had to score a hit,” was Jay Kithkin’s rapid response. Lanky dude, sand-brown hair. His dagger trial would be a technicality if he passed, although one of his lightning-quick knives had brushed Squall’s uniform it had not come nearly close enough to actually make him feel it.

Theron Bron, our little group’s swordsman, cut in himself. “Both of you simmer down. If you were a brand-new commander and had an opportunity to test the new students personally, wouldn’t you take it?” He stretched his broad shoulders out, unlike us he carried a shield and used it well. He hadn’t enjoyed defending himself any more than I had, Commander Leonhart had pelted him with several blasts of flame, the tips of his own blond hair were still smoking until he’d showered.

All told, six of us were out there chatting. The PA pinged again in the distance, but none of us heard what was said. We all noticed the Garden suddenly shift direction, though. We definitely noticed when the enormous floating structure was picking up speed. “Guys… we probably want to get back to the barracks…”

I’d said what we were all thinking quite loudly. From the pace we set running back through the Square you wouldn’t have known about our earlier fights. Flashes of Garden preparing its forces for attack and defense as we sped by. Squads marshaling, weapons getting set. At the center ring we could see the Commander coming down to check his troops, too. Almost made it to the barracks before a sound that was NOT supposed to be in Garden. Roaring engines. In the halls.

Motorcycles.  _ Freaking motorcycles.  _ The bunch of us got cut off quickly by a strike team attacking those who were slow to get ready. They didn’t seem to be hunting for us specifically, but attempting to run past them would both attract attention and put us straight into the path of the bullets. That was out, we didn’t even slow down as we kept running around the circle instead of down  _ that _ hall.

“Any ideas?” Reina asked as we kept moving.

“Training area! Heard there’s a hiding place in the back,” I panted back, running out of breath.

“Aren’t there supposed to be monsters in there to train  _ against _ ?”

“And weapons for us to grab. Come on, can’t be worse than the machine guns.”

Turned out a couple of minutes later that I was half-right. “YOU WANT TO TELL ME WHY YOU WEREN’T WORRIED ABOUT THIS!”

Couldn’t really blame Theron for his tone. Alright, so I hadn’t thought “training monsters” would have included T-Rexaurs. Look, we were armed now, and no Galbadians were trying to kill us. We were even running faster than before. “Scatter! That thing can only be in one place at once, and each of us can outrun it individually. Hiding place is to the rear of the zone, meet up there.”

We dashed off in six different directions. As it turned out, it ended up not chasing any of us, since a couple of enemy troops came running through on foot and were bigger than us. Big guy must have thought they were more food and decided they were more worth the effort. As for me? I dove into the river nearby and swam as far as I could before surfacing. Had to drop the staff to make  _ that _ trick work, but I’d be able to apologize later. Not if I got shot, stabbed, or eaten.

Large amounts of adrenaline and heart rates over 140 do not make it easy to hold your breath, however. I came up too close to the fighting, but nearby some shrubs and large rocks to hide behind as SeeD forces came to repel the intruders.

It was there, a tiny little light flickering behind the rocks and bushes. So was I, a tiny little kid realizing just how out of my depth I was. We hit it off immediately. Galbadia was invading, bullets flying, sword and spell flashing, and all it took was an “Oh, hello!” before I felt the nudge of what amounted to a mental high-five for the first time in my life. The theory I had been taught clicked into place, the actions flowing naturally under the guidance of my Will o’ Wisp as if I had been doing them for years.

_ Draw _

The nearest foe suddenly found himself deprived of the flames he had been ready to throw at a SeeD defender, streams of magic flying from his back instead of his hand.

_ Cast _

Perhaps the burst of heat wasn’t the strongest, but I knew how to aim and he hadn’t gotten the chance to quite realize what was happening before he got blasted straight into his enemy’s reach.

_ Run _

I had no weapon, almost no stocked magic, no time to set my first junctions or even know what my new partner was capable of, and I was half the age of most of the combatants… and not in a good way. My instructors had been quite clear on what to do with that. Get to support and safety. And so I did, and nobody there had the attention to spare for a tiny slip of a kid who was obviously no threat, running well away from the fighting. Running until I collapsed across the threshold of the Hidden Area, where a couple of my friends were already hiding.

I wouldn’t be powerless again. If this was what I was getting prepared for, I had a lot more work to do.


	2. The Training Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't own anything. Any resemblance to actual people is still coincidental.

**Chapter 2: The Training Zone**

Theron and Jay nodded at me, catching their own breath and taking stock. They, unlike me, had managed to keep hold of their weapons. We weren’t the only ones back here, either, but no other junior students. We were three and had been six. This… was not an ideal situation. Step one would have to be to get myself straight. 

Like Professor Yisra says, the one thing you can control is yourself. In my particular case, I had a new passenger coming with me and we needed to get sorted out. I found a quiet corner and sat cross legged, focusing. It took longer than I really want to admit.

<Okay, we have a moment, but more trouble is coming. I know what you are, and I think I know your name, but nothing else. Will o’ Wisp, the legendary swamp haunt who leads the unwary to their doom. We need to know more about each other to make this work.>

_ <Agreed, and you have my name and myth right if nothing else> _

So, hearing myself think back at me with an accent that was not my own would take some getting used to. <I’ll start, then. Name is Vermeil, a trainee in the Balamb SeeD corps, hoping to enter caster support. I can go into hobbies when we are not busy getting assaulted by Galbadians on motorcycles.>

_ <That is enough, and I think we will be a good match. I am the flicker at the edge of the eye, that which one can never touch, the thorn of the mind. Use the power I can grant you, and we will together be strong.> _

Junctioning took only a moment. It’s what happens when you only have three Fires in stock, and a GF who needs to restore their skills. Still, I felt better once we had our cues set, when we had a path laid before us. It was time. I stood, walking over to my classmates. Reina had joined them, leaving Matthew and Fern still missing from the group that came into the Training Area. “Alright, we’re still short. I don’t think we can just hide, not with two others still stuck out there. Anyone have any ideas?”

“I’m not sure hiding is a bad idea,” Jay chimed in. “We are out of our league, big time.” 

That was half of the thought, anyway. Everyone else knew the rest:  _ if we were out of our league, what about the guys stuck out there? _

Theron, speaking slowly as he thought his own way through it, had the final say. “We can’t claim to want to be SeeDs if we aren’t going to help them. Remember team organizations? Jay, stick with me. Reina, with V. We go generalist/specialist, but stick to the edges and run if you see trouble.”

We nodded. I’m sure someone else might have had a better one eventually, but it was what we had. We slipped out, Reina following me back the way I had come… though this time in much less of a blind panic.

“Any reason you’re taking me this way?”

“Two. First, plenty of cover. I used it on the way to the Hidden Area. Second,” I paused at the edge of the creek, reached in, and grabbed my quarterstaff, soaking my arm again in the process. “I need to be armed, and there are no lockers between here and the exit.” I looked back at her, hand over her mouth, obviously trying not to laugh. “What?”

“Explains why you were sitting in a corner dripping and shivering when I came in.”

“Very funny.” Unfortunately, it seemed to be. We continued along the far walls, checking more remote areas. Fern was not particularly brave, he would stay as far from the fighting as he could. Matthew was a hunter and sharpshooter, he’d be in among plants anyway. In the end, we found what we wanted… almost. We were crouched among the plants when Reina nudged me.

“V, to the 10 o’clock. Good news and bad news.” One trainee rifleman, approximately ten years old, hiding behind a cluster of trees. One significantly-more-experienced Galbadian soldier very obviously looking for him. Zero outside support. Zero time.

<Wisp, I hope you’re ready for this.>

_ <If you are, I am. Try not to die, I’d rather not get stuck behind another bush.> _

THAT was a thought that raised a lot more questions than answers. Still, no time. “Reina, can you keep a secret?”

“What do you mean?”

“No time, just answer me. Yes or no, can you keep a secret?”

“Yes”

“Alright, then. Get ready for a fight on my signal. Matthew will probably hop in as well.”

To her credit, she asked no more questions before unslinging her whip and getting ready to sprint in. Calling magic was not hard, not really, but this time I had the presence of mind to be able to think everything through. A spark ignited in my right hand as I pulled power from within myself, took aim, and pelted the unsuspecting soldier with a burst of flame. To HIS credit, he didn’t go down.

<What happened? I thought you were juicing up my magic?>

_ <You had three Fires in stock. Any increase to the force of your spells by junctioning that would be more of a technicality than anything else. The other parts didn’t have much to work with, yet.> _

Thankfully, everything else seemed to go roughly as I thought it would. Matthew noticed the signal at the same time Reina did, popped off two quick shots, and began circling around to link up with his reinforcements. Reina lashed out from maximum range to keep the enemy off balance, and I bashed him over the head with the stave. 

Don’t look at me like that, I was already down to two charges. 

Those combined with the burns left him unconscious. Matthew ran forward and deprived him of his ammunition, I touched his forehead and deprived him of his remaining (and unfortunately depleted from fighting) stocks of magic. Matt looked at me sharply. “Care to explain how exactly you’re doing this?” 

_ <Probably should have considered that she would not be the only witness.> _

<Oh, shut up.>

“Need both of you to keep quiet on this. I found a Guardian Force while we were scrambling away from the T-Rexaur. Haven’t had much time to get to know him yet, but yes, I’m junctioned now. Won’t be all that obvious to anyone I don’t cast in front of, though, not this one.”

Matt kept glaring at me. Sometimes I think it’s just his face. “Still need to tell Professor.”

“NO! Look, you know we aren’t supposed to have our own yet, and Wisp’s perfect for me. I’d lose him to central storage or an active SeeD.”

Reina still pondered what she had seen. “We can put off the decision until later. For now, having V able to cast is going to let us take on some of these soldiers if we catch them alone. Matthew, just don’t tell anyone until we get the chance, we have to get this guy to someone who can get him into custody and still try to find Fern.”

“He’s still missing? Of course, priorities are priorities. Vermeil, soon as we all get back to the barracks, we will talk.” I was not looking forward to it, but that was likely the best we were going to get. “Any idea which way he could have gone?”

We shook our heads. That part of things hadn’t really come up in planning this excursion. “I think we need to get back to the Hidden Area for now. Jay and Theron are looking as well.” Lacking any better options, we swung back that direction, detouring briefly to the main path to deposit the unconscious soldier. It wasn’t quick or clean, Garden kept jerking around as though changing directions rapidly or getting hit. Twice, we had to avoid teams of G-Soldiers. Once, we caught another fighting off the local wildlife alone and ambushed him from cover. The Grat he had been fighting decided to run off at the flame’s appearance, tendrils trailing.

_ <You’re catching on quick. I think I may have something for you to chew on soon, but it will take more work by a long shot.> _

<What do you mean?>

The last was greeted by a frustrating silence. Thankfully, not a long one, we made it back to the Hidden Area just in time to hear a distant intercom chime again. Commander Lionheart was speaking, though what exactly he was saying I couldn’t quite make out. It sounded cool. Inspiring. I’d have to get a transcript from someone later. Problem was, nobody else was there. Theron and Jay had not returned, and the older students and staff had decided to stop hiding as well. We didn’t even pause for long, just enough to take a breath and head back out. “We need to hit the other route, then beeline to the barracks.”

There was no argument, just like there was nothing to find on the way out. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t here any longer. We ran around the loop, returning to the Barracks.


	3. A Boy And His Wisp

**Chapter 3: A Boy And His Wisp**

After the chaos of the last half-hour, the quiet in the halls was almost creepy. I didn’t expect the two out in front of the Barracks wing, either. Chase was looking nervous, daikatana out and in hand. Couldn’t really blame him, even if nothing was within sight or sound. Rosa was standing next to him looking much more relaxed (and frillier, but that’s just her), bow also ready. Both perked up when we came into sight.

“You’re okay!” Rosa called out as we came close. She ran up and gave Reina a big hug, ignoring guard protocol entirely. “The rest of us are already holed up here. Get in and check in, most of the SeeDs are on the offensive now except for a couple of defenders. We are just watching out for sneaks.”

“Got it,” was Reina’s rapid response. 

We complied, rapidly. Nobody wanted to be on Professor Yisra’s bad side, and given the situation? He’d be irritated in the extreme if he couldn’t account for his class. Sure enough, the other seven students were in our barracks wing, alongside a professor on high alert, right in the center of our block of rooms.

“Vermeil, Reina, Matthew? Good, that’s all twelve. Report.”

We all went to attention immediately. I spoke up to save the others the focus… and to make sure my version was the one in the air. “Sir! After the exam, several of us were at the edge of the Square when we felt Balamb Garden accelerate. We ran back to the main halls intending to return to barracks, but that route was occupied by Galbadian motorcycle troops. To avoid line of fire, we proceeded to the Training Area, intending to hide at the rear of the area. This mostly succeeded, though we became separated. Reina, Theron, Jay, and I met at the designated location, then split into teams of two to recover Fern and Matthew. Reina and I succeeded in our mission to find Matthew, though this required ambushing individual Galbadian troops twice along the way. We returned to rendezvous, found nobody, and proceeded back to barracks as soon as we noticed the way was clear.”

Professor Yisra had been listening carefully until I got to the part about ten-year-olds attempting to ambush fully trained troops. He just about looked ready to make me wish we had lost the fight. “Trainee Vermeil… if you are lying to me…”

“Sir!” Matthew of all people interjected. “I have Galbadian ammunition in my weapon as proof, recovered from the ambushes. The first was about to find me alone in hiding when Reina and V found me, the second we caught defending against local wildlife and attacked unaware. Both unconscious bodies were left along the trail, we could not safely transport them.”

The professor looked at us with extreme suspicion. “There is more you are not telling me.”

_ Gulp. _

“However, lucky for you, I already knew about the Hidden Area.”  _ Wait, he thinks THAT’s what I’m concealing? I can live with that. _ “We will talk much more extensively later about how exactly you did this, but for now retain the weapons you retrieved from the Training Area. We hopefully will not need them, since our main forces are forward at Galbadia Garden as we speak attempting to fulfill the entire purpose of our existence, but best be prepared. Stay in this area, but dismissed.” He pulled out a data pad and started furiously writing notes.

The three of us relaxed a bit and went to our rooms. Four of them, in the center sections of the Barracks. As soon as we had hit the point where we could be trusted to maintain them to a decent standard, we had gotten moved into them. Three kids each in rooms that would house two older students or one SeeD, it was a bit roomier than it might otherwise sound but not by much. Guess leadership didn’t want us hiding there in our free time. Chase was one of my roommates, but the lance in the corner told me that the other group had also retrieved weapons somewhere during the assault. Andy was training for high-mobility operations and idolized the dragoons he had read about. The weapon would have been a half-spear on an adult but was plenty long enough for him. Given that he was only about an inch taller than me, I think he liked it just for the ability to keep others out of reach. Andy was not in the room himself, probably over with a couple of others, so I had a moment of quiet once again. I took that moment to take stock. As usual. In this case, though, that took a bit more time than days prior.

_ Tired, expected that. Hands, arms, shoulders still hurt from the test, swinging the stave that hard didn’t help. I’m… pretty sure I didn’t take any hits, but not entirely sure. Got a small stock to track, now, just some basics. Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Cure, limited quantities but present. Pretty sure it’s not worth expending any of them now to recover. Speaking of… _

<Wisp, still hanging out?>

_ <Nowhere else to be that I can think of.> _

<Very funny. Look, We need to get a little more on the same page. What are you working on, and what do you need from me to make it happen faster? Life got a bit nervous here recently, if you hadn’t noticed, and I would prefer to be on top of things before anything else comes after me.>

_ <Now you are speaking my language. Mind doing me a favor, though? Call me out. Sticking to telepathy is… uncomfortable. Don’t worry about discovery, I can hide easily enough if we are interrupted.> _

That was a thought. We had not learned much about Guardian Forces yet in class, given that we weren’t supposed to be using them for another couple of years, but what I did know indicated that they were rarely brought forth except in combat in dire need. Being present endangered them by exposing them to attack, and one who was taken out of the fight could no longer assist. Here, however? Probably couldn’t hurt. I focused a moment, tapping into the connection between us. Took a bit of effort, nothing nearly as natural as merely belting out a burst of flame or devouring the ambient magics about the enemy. When he came, it was with a whisper, not a roar.

The Will of the Wisp was not an intimidating spirit. There were no claws or scales, it didn’t fill the room with its bulk, nor did it carry obvious weaponry. A ghostly flame in pale shades of blue and white floated in the middle of my room, with no obvious face or limbs apparent. It was small, only about the size of a basketball, and was not shedding any heat that I could feel. “Thank you, Vermeil. Feels good to stretch.” His voice wasn’t anything like it was in my head, either, a slightly breathy tenor that echoed more than the room should have let it.

“Not exactly sure what you’re stretching, but I believe you.”

“Looks like you’re learning quickly. Now, you wanted to talk to me for a reason?”

“Yeah. We need to cut out the mystery. What are you working on, and what do you need from me to make it happen? What exactly do you do?”

“Definitely more specific than my last ward, but still a bit… open. Let me see if I can satisfy the curiosity. I am recovering a technique that I can help you pull more out of your foes when you Draw from them. You need the help. After that, we can talk about what we want to do. As for what I need? Just keep doing what you are doing. Fight, practice, and train, it will all help me in the long run, and what helps me will help you for as long as we are together.”

“‘As long as we are together’? Why would we not be?”

“What I have to teach is largely well-hidden. We need to work together for a long time in order for me to restore them to be available to you. I deal with magic, and those who deal with magic rarely have that kind of patience. My last ward grew frustrated with me, and abandoned me where we met. Not many come back there, you were the first in a decade and the one before you ran off when I made my offer.”

“I… I see. No fear there. So long as I don’t die, I don’t plan to abandon you like that. Even besides it just being mean, you want me to do what I want to do. I think we will work well together.”

“I agree.”

“Oh, and when you’re done with this project, I need you to work on a way to… elevate the spells I’m pulling. Nobody respects a mage who is tossing around basic Fire.”

“I think I know just the thing, but we will speak later. For now, I think I hear someone coming.” Without waiting for a response, he winked out of existence. It was like he had dunked the flames of his body into a tub of water, no sign remained after the faint  _ pop-hiss _ of displaced air was finished. Turns out his hearing was better than mine… or he was less distracted by the conversation. 

Without a knock, Chase came into the room (which I admittedly shared with him). In a slightly soft voice at odds with his tone, he told me “V, get off your butt and out here. Bring Andy’s lance, he might need it. Professor Yisra wants us formed up time now.”


	4. Crisis Averted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still own nothing. This chapter ended up meandering a bit, since my characters were acting in ways I didn't quite expect them to. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: Crisis Averted**

We formed up by room, standing three wide and four deep. Once I handed Andy his lance, we were all armed. Silent, too, which was an admitted rarity for us. Even Liam, our rather flamboyant rapier duelist and contender for most enthusiastic person in Garden (only to lose to a transfer SeeD on the Commander’s team), was subdued. Professor Yisra took a quick accounting of us, but I noticed something very different about him. He was Junctioned, the aura of power palpable about him. It was the first time I’d ever seen him in that state outside of the classroom. This time around, I had an extra sense to perceive with. I could practically  _ smell _ the stocks of power on him.

_ Could he… no, he doesn’t know to look, and whatever he’s got in stock is way more than a few piddly Fires and Thunders _ .

“Class, the present crisis has been resolved. Garden will remain in place for the duration in order to assess and regroup. I see that everyone here armed themselves during the invasion, and at least three of you participated in a more direct way. If any more of you did so, let me know now.”

There was silence. If anyone else in class had been foolish enough to ambush Galbadian soldiers, they were not quite dumb enough to admit to what we had done. The stories in the cafeteria should be entertaining when the Professor wasn’t around to hear them.

“We normally do not issue long-term weaponry at this stage, but all of you have shown acceptable proficiency in examination and appropriate instincts in an emergency. After this, return the training weapons you have acquired. Tomorrow, we will see about getting live ones for you to practice with and carry as appropriate. For some of you, these will be replaced when you grow out of them.”

THAT was unexpected. Then again, the only one here with a weapon that could be dangerous accidentally was Matthew, and he was so precise I’d sooner believe that SeeD Zell had a misfire with his fists.

He looked around at us carefully. “I know that none of you are reporting any injuries beyond scrapes, but all of you will be seen by Doctor Kowalski this week to be sure. Not today. There are real injuries to be seen to, first.” His expression softened a bit. Not something I was used to seeing. “You have all gotten a lot more practice today than I intended, and all of you did well. We are entering dangerous times, it seems…”

_ I mean, last week the entire Garden dodged missiles, and this week was motorcycle troopers, so duh. _

“... and your training schedule is going to change as a result. You will not be used on the front lines, but we must ensure you are able to defend yourselves. It is 1700 now. Go get dinner. Meet back at the classroom at 1745 for debrief, and for the outline of the next week of training. Dismissed.”

It took maybe half a second after he turned around for a tap to come to my shoulder. I spun to find Matthew, his roommates already walking towards the cafeteria without him. He didn’t have to say a word, there was really only one thing he could want at that point that was more important than potential hot dogs. “Barracks or cafeteria?”

“Can we talk while walking to the cafeteria? I still don’t want to drop this in front of prying ears, but I’m hungry.” He thankfully nodded, and we stepped off. “Look, I don’t really have anything new to add. You know I’m trying to go into backline, caster corps. That means GFs, and Wisp’s a caster’s dream far as I can see.”

“Still breaking every rule we have.”

“Not quite, but not far off. Still, end results. You get support who can cast, I get my dream job, and Wisp doesn’t have to hide behind another bush or spend time in the Vault.”

_ <Much appreciated.> _ came the mental nudge, sounding much less like myself and more like the manifested voice. Odd, but not my primary concern at the moment. Barely in my top five.

Matt was silent for a moment, then nodded. “One condition. I’ll ask for more information about Guardian Forces in class. Warning signs. I see any pop up with you, I report you. Deal?”

I had to think for a moment. Made sense for him, since he was at least partly training for sniper work, to ask the question. I’d need to hear it as well. Frankly, anything that DIDN’T have Yisra dragging me out of Garden by the ear… without bothering to ask to park first… was a step forward. “I’ll take it.” We got to where we were going, and realized two things quickly. First, we had forgotten to drop our weapons off before coming to eat. Second, it seemed like everyone else, young and old, did as well. Garden had just fought Garden, and nobody was about to forget it today. We got our food (the hot dogs were gone, as usual, but chili mac was a solid silver medal there) and joined our classmates. 

Everyone was subdued. Nobody had cards out, and voices were hushed. Fern, our medic in training and looking like he’d get lost in a crowd of three, had his baton out and unfolded in his lap as he was chattering nervously “anyone got anything to tell? V, I know there’s gotta be more to THAT story. You guys jumped a Galbadian? Twice? Really?” 

I sighed. Time for stories. “There isn’t much to tell you didn’t hear when we were reporting to Professor Yisra. We stuck to when we could go three-on-one with surprise on our side. Neither one we went against got to return fire. But seriously, you guys can’t tell me we were the only ones to actually take them on.”

They all looked at each other. Theron was the one to eventually speak up. “You three… really were. Half of the class was relaxing in the barracks and ended up behind the defensive line, and my group managed to evade significant contact. I had to block an ice lance, but it was from a miss directed at someone else. Thought we said to avoid fights?”

So much for pleasant conversation. I was saved from having to respond by Andy, sitting in his usual spot to my left. His blue eyes were closed in thought, his chin as pointed as his words. “You wanna try avoiding a fight when your classmate’s about to get caught? Nah, that wasn’t avoidable if the story is straight.” He looked at me significantly, brushing blonde bangs from his eyes. 

“Like I said, nothing more on that story. You guys know anything about the new training he was talking about?”

“I might.” This came from a normally-quiet person at the table. Simone was our tinker, her dark brown skin perpetually showing either oil smudges or small burns from her experiments, her curly hair tied back in a yellow bandana. She immediately had all of our combined attention. “Heard it from some of the other engineers in line. Headmaster Cid said there’s an orphanage nearby, and they need the area cleared of monsters that have been more active recently. Said he was looking forward to the training, since he didn’t get to go on mission often. You think they might have us go hunting for some of the lesser ones once we will be armed?”

It made sense. A lot of it, really. A lot of the little-league monsters are still plenty dangerous to the very young or unprepared, and Trabia Garden wasn’t exactly in fighting form for the time being if the view from the Square last week meant anything. Some low-key contracts to keep up morale and funding would be right up SeeD’s alley while we had some forced downtime. 

The next day was a bit of a blur. More than half of us used weapons that would need to be replaced regularly as we grew, as opposed to just wear and tear. A couple of us were entering roles that would require more exotic components in order to enter planned career paths (like my own caster corps ambitions requiring a caster’s core on my stave). Simone, ironically the easiest for them to help since she mostly just used her own tools, ended up being the superstar of the class. Beyond needing to know how all of our gear worked in order to do her eventual job, she was offering solutions and ideas to problems the armorers hadn’t even considered. She is why my stave ended up segmented and detachable, so that I could add another link or two as I went. Same theory on Andy’s lance, and she made absolutely sure Rosa’s bow would have adjustable tension. I was thankful, Wisp was too busy laughing his figurative head off as I took half an hour to get used to the locking mechanism to comment. To be honest, I was more tired at the end of it than I was after running away from an angry dinosaur. 

The morning that followed, though? Turns out Simone’s grapevine was from a good winery, since bright and early we broke down by room, piled into vehicles from the garage, and headed out into the surrounding area to hunt. Each of the teams went out with a SeeD guide, it was technically their mission and we were there for a ride-along. Just our luck that ours was a prior instructor.

“We normally perform missions in subtly-reinforced street clothes. Do any of you know why we are in SeeD uniform today?”

“Because this is an official and public mission, SeeD Quistis?”

“Good answer, Chase, but it’s only half of the story. This uniform is also made much tougher than your clothing would be, offering a small but sometimes critical edge.”

And so on it went. The truck dropped us off at a beach, the orphanage itself barely visible across the waters. “We are here to hunt down and fight some of the more minor beasts of the area, known as Fastitocalons. Land sharks. They and their spawn have been becoming more common in the area and need to be controlled. Your safety is paramount, though you will be engaging the enemy, do not hesitate to back off and let me fight if necessary. Is this understood?” We all saluted. 

If you have not done so, or not recently, let me tell you something about walking on loose sand. It sucks. Doing so in formation, keeping on the lookout for local beasts, in full combat uniform is not at all like putting on a swimsuit and running into the waves for a swim. It thankfully didn’t take long before our scout, Andy, called out “Fins left!”

Since “left” was inland, this got my attention.

Our weapons snapped forward to ready position on well-trained reflex as we got set in the direction of the incoming fiends. I got a glimpse of… three?... fins just in time for Andy to dash forward, blonde braid flying behind him as he attacked the one in the front. I couldn’t wait long, since he’d obviously gotten their attention, dashing in as Chase did the same. I caught his brown crew-cut in my peripheral vision as he attacked the same target with a flash of steel. When he wanted to, he could make that katana move far faster than a weapon its size should.

_ Rule 1: Always focus fire when able, remove enemies from the fight and gain an advantage over those that remain _ .

As I followed up, though, a hole in this plan appeared. Namely, the previously-submerged animal leapt up into the air… and instead of following gravity, it stayed there. This thing was much bigger than I had given it credit for, armored with thick scales and armed with razor teeth. It decided that I, now being closest, looked delicious. This time, my foe was neither surprised nor looking to train me. It wanted my flesh, and it took its piece. Before I could register the missing chunk of my upper arm, its two buddies sliced through the sands and demonstrated that the scales of their dorsal fins were just as sharp as their teeth. Far from applying my quarterstaff to one of their skulls, I was flung to the ground, barely managing to get myself back to standing before the other two, much smaller, creatures came up. They smelled blood.

I heard the pounding of feet on sand behind me, probably Quistis running up to heal me, but the other sound I heard was a roaring in my ears. Something inside me… clicked, and I felt power flowing forth into my hands. I jabbed my staff into the sand to stand.

_ <Oh, now this should be fun.> _

In my right hand, the power of Fire. In my left, Thunder crackled. I brought the two together, combining them. Admixing them. A word came to my mind: “Plasma!”

Neither of the spells individually are all that powerful. Together, though? Things worked a bit better. Jets of searing white flame shot forth from my outstretched palms, obliterating the three monsters we faced and turning shallow streaks of the beach’s sand into glass. I breathed, the roaring rush of blood in my ears subsiding as all the adrenaline left my system more or less simultaneously. Looking around with blurry eyes, I saw my roommates barely outside the blast zone, Chase actively using damp sand to extinguish a fire I had accidentally set on sme nearby scrub. The haze of pain faded quickly as I felt the telltale pulse of a Cure spell, coming from our escort.

“Trainee Vermeil, care to explain what just happened?” Quistis’s voice was unnaturally calm in her Instructor Mode. How the fight transpired was, to put it lightly, absolutely nothing like she had assumed it would.

“I’m… not sure, SeeD Quistis. I got hurt, bad, and suddenly was just blasting power out.”

“Ah, so that is not a standard tactic for you. It would appear that you have just performed your first Limit Break. Congratulations. Trainees Chase and Andrew, post lookout. Trainee Vermeil, this was not part of what was intended today, but take the next five minutes to write down everything you possibly can about what has just transpired. You will need the information, as will your instructors in order to help guide you in its use later.”

<Wisp! What the hell?>

_ <Don’t yell at me, all I did was watch you cast two of your spells simultaneously. Incidentally, assuming you still want to keep me secret, best be creative. I can help you keep the real stuff straight and figure things out, but those definitely came out of your stocks.> _

And so I sat. Really, other than where the spells came from, I didn’t have to be all that creative. Thankfully. Wouldn’t have been able to do anything convincing on the spot, not with my hand shaking so hard I could barely write. “Alright, if you haven’t written it down by now it isn’t as important. Stand, and let’s finish our route. Next time, work together instead of dashing in. The recklessness you displayed would have led to the death of one or more of you had you been against a significant foe.”

_ Okay, I felt THAT one in my soul… _

The rest of the day was… well, good training. I was understandably more cautious, Andy dropped his habit of charging in unsupported like a hot rock, and SeeD Quistis kept a bit of a closer herd on us. Six hours of hunting led to five more landsharks and a dozen immature ones. Mine was not the last significant injury, but it was the only one that even came close to being life-threatening. By the time I collapsed back into bed, I wasn’t even interested in listening to Wisp’s commentary before passing out.


End file.
